9 Days of Princess Hair - a June 2010 trip report - update 9/24 the drive home

[ksl5f123]

Very cool that you got to use GAD and ride TSMM twice!! I love that ride!! I am also glad your nephews got to ride RnR...it is awesome!!

We all enjoyed TSMM. We would have had terrible waits without the GAD given our "late" arrival.

I also want to do the Animation Tour...I have not done that one yet either!

The drawing portion was really fun. The little show with Mushu was just OK.

You're going to DTD...Ghiradelli's is just right there!!!

Yeah, but I had to be the mom and not let my kids have ice cream that close to supper.

 

[ksl5f123]

Our first trip to DTD had been by boat from POR. I must say this is a much nicer way to get there than driving. The parking lot at DTD is a little confusing and VERY crowded (I think pretty much all of the time!). DD6 still had $7 burning a hole in her pocket. So, we went to the $10 or less store for her to spend it. She found a matching plate and bowl that came to about $7. DD4 found a really nice Tinkerbell straw cup for about $5.

We then went over to Goofy's to “spend” our last 8 snack credits. I let each person choose 2 things to get. DD4 chose chocolate fudge and a sugar cookie shaped like a tulip with purple icing. DH chose a peanut butter cup cookie and a pecan roll. I chose a peanut butter cup cookie and an M&M cup. DD6 chose chocolate fudge and some kind of cookie I don't remember. The CM at the checkout congratulated us on using all of our credits!

By this point, the nephews were on their plane and we met up with MIL and FIL at our hotel for the evening. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree on 535. MIL got this hotel with an incredibly low priceline bid. It is currently under renovation. The rooms were interesting. We had a king size bed and then bunk beds on the other side of a half wall. There was also a little kitchenette on the way into the bathroom. The girls REALLY enjoyed the bunks – I REALLY didn't enjoy trying to keep DS1 off of them. My main complaint about this hotel is that apparently they thought we shouldn't have skipped Tower of Terror at DHS so they made their elevator simulate it. We were on the 5th floor and the elevator went up and then BOUNCED for about 20 seconds before it stopped and the door opened!!!!!!!!!!! I only needed this experience once, 5 flights of stairs weren't that bad.

For supper, we went back to the Macaroni Grill on 535 where we had eaten our first night in Orlando and then went to bed at about 9 PM. Thus ends day 7 with princess hair.

11 snack credits used (1 at Riverside Mill, 2 for Mickey bars at DHS, 8 at Goofy's)
price if paying oop - $39.63
2 CS credits used at Riverside Mill
Price for this meal if paying oop - $18.37
5 CS credits used at Pizza Planet
Price if paying oop = $44.96
Total paid for dining plan (8 days) = $975.68
Total cost of meals if paying oop = $1260.95!!!! Total Savings = $285.27! Disney advertises up to 30% off and we had a 23% savings so I think that is pretty good!
Money spent this day = $15.85 for the girls souveniers.
Money available after 10 days = $406

Up next, Seaworld!

 

[TinksThree]

Okay DHS controls their ToT....a real elevator doing that?........Nope, I agree 5 flights of stairs are not all that bad!!

Bunk beds and a 2 year old sounds like no rest for mom!!

I can't wait to hear how your Seaworld day goes!! I loved Sea World in San Antonio!!

 

[ksl5f123]

Okay DHS controls their ToT....a real elevator doing that?........N ope, I agree 5 flights of stairs are not all that bad!!

Bunk beds and a 2 year old sounds like no rest for mom!!

Of course, the one at DHS probably drops 10 feet and this one only bounced about 6 inches, but still it was not my idea of fun. I probably needed to do 5 flights of stairs after all of those wonderful Disney desserts!

Once DD6 got into bed, we removed the ladder entirely and only put it back when she was ready to get down in the morning. In an emergency, DH or I could have lifted her down.

 

[ksl5f123]

Like Disney parks, Seaworld opens at 9 AM. We woke up Wednesday morning and had cookies from Goofy's candy company for breakfast (my twisted reasoning: 1) It is vacation and 2) it is nutritionally identical to a doughnut which is typical breakfast food!). We then made the short drive down I-4 to Seaworld. Since we weren't doing any rides (only shows and sea creatures) we arrived at about 8:50 and had a short wait before going in. We had pre-purchased our tickets on-line because of their current promotion which allows you one child's ticket for $5 for each full price adult.
As we walked into the parks, the first thing we saw were the flamingos. DD6 loves flamingos because they are pink.

Our first goal of the day was to go to the touch pool for the stingrays. The girls were really concerned at first because of the word “sting”, but quickly got over it. I love how rays seem to just glide through the water with so little effort.

From the ray tank, you could see the line for the dolphin feeding. I had originally planned to feed the rays first thing, but when we saw the line open for the dolphin feeding we decided to do that instead. It opened at about 9:10 and the girls and I got in line. We were about the 10th family in line. The rule here is that everyone in the dolphin feeding area must pay to feed the dolphins and it is $7/person. DS1 is too little (I think kids have to be at least 3). So, everyone else headed into the dolphin viewing area to get ready to take pictures.

After being given instructions about how to feed and touch the dolphins, we had about 15 minutes to enjoy them. Each person was given a little paper tray with about 5 small fish in it. So between the 3 of us, we had about 15 fish to feed. Since this was the first feeding of the day, the dolphins were very cooperative! They came over and waited for you to drop the fish into their mouths. The girls loved feeding them, but the wall was just a little too tall for them to be able to reach over and touch the dolphins.

The bird on top of the umbrella in this picture amuses me

MIL and DS1 watching us feed the dolphins

While you are feeding the dolphins, Seaworld has a photographer taking your picture. They bring you a slip of paper with your photo number on it. After feeding, we went to look at our photos, but none were good enough to spend money on them. While looking at our photos we saw this

– a flamingo parade! I have no idea why they were taking the flamingos for a walk, but it was fun to watch!

Up next, time for some shows!

 

[TinksThree]

I love the flamingos also!! The flamingo parade was pretty cute!! And I love dolphins!!

I agree about the cookies!! If it isn't for every breakfast, why not?? Go for it!!

 

[lexmas]

My number one thing to do at naptime today was to come get caught up!

Crazy that fastpasses were all taken up so fast! Good thing you had those GAD vouchers.

Glad that your nephews liked Rock n Roller coaster!

Great Job at the Animation Academy! I can't wait until my kids are big enough to do that!

I like the muppets, but I agree that the pre-show is SO long! The only thing that bothers me is that when they show the view "outside" the theatre, I remember being 5 and thinking that those were REALLY the people outside the theatre, and I just think "REALLY?" every time I see it!

That is so very sad that starring rolls was closed. Getting a cupcake from there is one of my top goals for DHS!

Tell me more about using snack credits at Goofy's at DTD. Is there a lot you can choose from?

The elevator sounds terrifying. And keeping a baby off the bunk beds sounds awful. I hate having to corral my kids when I'm somewhere that's not home!

I love dolphins. I can't get enough, feeding the dolphins is always so much fun. And I love how rubbery they feel. You would never think they would feel like that!

A Flamingo parade! Too funny!

Can't wait to hear about the shows!

 

[ksl5f123]

I love the flamingos also!! The flamingo parade was pretty cute!! And I love dolphins!!

I agree about the cookies!! If it isn't for every breakfast, why not?? Go for it!!

I thought the flamingo parade was hilarious. We were just standing there and then there was this group of flamingos walking down the sidewalk. It was strange and funny at the same time.

Thanks for your support on the cookies. After all, it is vacation.

 

[ksl5f123]

Crazy that fastpasses were all taken up so fast! Good thing you had those GAD vouchers.

I think there had still been some on Sunday at 10:30 when we had ridden, so I was shocked that they were closing them at 10 on Tuesday.

Glad that your nephews liked Rock n Roller coaster!

They absolutely LOVED it! MIL and FIL said that they talked about how it was the BEST ride at Disney all the way to the airport.

Great Job at the Animation Academy! I can't wait until my kids are big enough to do that!

It was our first time and I think it was one of my favorite things we did. DD6 did wonderful doing her own thing. DD4 got a little frustrated for a minute when she messed up (there are no erasers), but quickly got over it. DS1 just ran around like a barefoot mad man with DH in hot pursuit.

I like the muppets, but I agree that the pre-show is SO long! The only thing that bothers me is that when they show the view "outside" the theatre, I remember being 5 and thinking that those were REALLY the people outside the theatre, and I just think "REALLY?" every time I see it!

I thought maybe that pre-show thing was just my impatience because we were running so far behind. I am so glad that someone else shares that opinion. I did sort of notice that the clothes on the people "outside" were starting to look a little dated.

That is so very sad that starring rolls was closed. Getting a cupcake from there is one of my top goals for DHS!

I don't know how I missed that they closed at 4. I just assumed that since the park was open until 6 or 7 that night that everything would be open that long. Next time, I am going EARLY!

Tell me more about using snack credits at Goofy's at DTD. Is there a lot you can choose from?

Basically, they have a huge bakery case filled with cookies, fudge, and other various candies. We did all of our shopping there. They also have a lot of "pre-packaged" stuff, but I don't do candy unless it is chocolate (or an orange gumdrop). I also prefer fresh-baked to uber-preservatived (there's a new word for you!).

The elevator sounds terrifying. And keeping a baby off the bunk beds sounds awful. I hate having to corral my kids when I'm somewhere that's not home!

The elevator was terrible. I thought maybe it was a freak time that only happened to us, but it also happened to MIL and FIL when they came upstairs. No way was I doing that again! I am not a huge fan of bunk beds. I had a good friend fall off of hers in the middle of the night in 5th grade and break her arm. If that could happen to a 12 year old, I don't want my 1 year old anywhere near a bunk bed!

I love dolphins. I can't get enough, feeding the dolphins is always so much fun. And I love how rubbery they feel. You would never think they would feel like that!

I love dolphins too. However, DD6 loves dolphins and DD4 loves orcas so I have to keep up appearances of neutrality.

A Flamingo parade! Too funny!

They were very funny. Flamingos have a strange way of walking.

 

[ksl5f123]

From there, we went straight to the 10 AM Blue Horizons show. It is really beautiful. MIL said that show alone was worth the cost of admission. It is a combination of dolphins doing tricks, a few exotic birds, and humans doing “Cirque du Soleil” style acts.

Next we went and saw the manatees. You can watch them both above and below the water. The little one in this picture is a one year old.

Mom having some lettuce

We then went to see the penguins and puffins. They simulate the Antarctic in here, so it was dark (it's winter there). You have the choice of either riding the moving sidewalk down close to the tank or walking at your own pace up above the sidewalk and farther from the tank. We just rode by on the sidewalk.

Next, we went to the 11:15 AM Clyde and Seamore show. I usually don't enjoy the humor in these shows, but the animals weren't cooperating this day and the actors/trainers had to ad lib the dialogue – that was funny! At one point the river otter refused to do its part and one of the trainers used an otter puppet to move the story along.

At this point, people were starting to get hungry. So, MIL and DH decided to go get food while FIL and I took the kids to stake out seats in Shamu Stadium. They went to the Antarctic Market. This was a really good plan. We got excellent seats near the top center in the shade and food arrived well before the show started. I had heard that the food at Seaworld was pretty bad and I have to say mine was rather mediocre. I had a pulled pork sandwich which had WAY too much fat in it and a Diet Pepsi. DH had a veggie wrap and we got each of the kids a turkey sandwich. The kids ate the turkey out and threw away the boring white buns. The popcorn that FIL bought in the Stadium was generally preferred by everyone. Here is a picture of DD4 waiting for the Shamu show:

She was VERY excited. Notice that finally on day 8 we have removed the original princess crown and replaced it with one of the hairbows I made for her. More of her short hair is coming out and she now has little ringlet curls all the way around her head. Since I have never had a curl in my life, I love hers so this added to the appeal for me, but I can see where others might think that it is starting to look a little messy.

Up next, Shamu!

 

[ksl5f123]

We saw the 12:30 PM Believe show and while it was good, I miss the trainers being in the water with the whales. The story here is also a little forced. Personally, I could care less about the story. I just come to watch the whales.

Splashing the crowd

Next, we did the Shark Encounter. The tank outside of the building

MIL, FIL, and DS1 riding through the exhibit. In here, you must ride the moving sidewalk as you go through the tank

Shark!

We were a little disappointed with this exhibit. It went really fast because you have to stay on the moving sidewalk. My girls thought it had too few sharks.

After the sharks, we made it just in time for the 1:45 Pets Ahoy show. Everyone really enjoyed this show, especially DS1. It is a cute little show with dogs, cats, birds, and a mouse that pretty much do the entire show with very little human involvement. It is a cute little story and lots of fun for the kids. Personally, I was impressed they had trained the cats.

We then went to the Wild Arctic. MIL did the helicopter side (a ride simulator) while the rest of us just did the walk. The walk takes about 2 minutes. MIL said that the ride was very bumpy and she didn't really enjoy it much. There are 3 different animals in this area: beluga whales, polar bears, and walrus. DH loves the beluga whales and spent a long time trying to get a picture. I loved watching the walrus swim. It was interesting to watch something so awkward on land be so graceful in the water. The kids liked climbing through the little tunnel they had to simulate a bear's den.

DH then wanted to go to the underwater viewing of the killer whales, but for some reason they were not in that tank when we arrived. So, we went to the dolphin nursery. There were some very playful young dolphins in there and it was a lot of fun.

Up next, will we use that 10th day?

 

[lexmas]

The shows at seaworld look great! Baby Manatees!

I when I read about the otter puppet. I think those shows are the best when the animals won't cooperate. We went to the fair this weekend and they had a sea lion show, and the trainer was throwing hoops for the sea lion to catch...well, she was not throwing them well, and at one point one of the other sea lions got one of the dropped hoops and put it on the neck of the one catching. It was funny. The other trainer joked to the one throwing that she had "just been replaced by a sea lion."

I love that you have girls who think there aren't enough sharks.

That princess hair is really hanging in there, huh? Not bad. Good use of your money, apparently!

Is that a baby killer whale? Everything is cuter when it's smaller, isn't it?

I am VERY impressed that they trained cats. Mine will roll over on command if he is hungry and in the right mood, but that's about it! The pet show sounds like fun.

Can't wait to hear what happens next!

 

[TinksThree]

I am really wanting to go to Sea World! I just love aquatic animals....well all animals but we do not have any aquatic animals around here! I love watching the walrus also and Shamu! They always seem to make dumb little storylines to go along with what the animals are doing...I am with you: I am there to see the animals!!!

 

[ksl5f123]

The shows at seaworld look great! Baby Manatees!

The shows really are the highlight - OK that and when they let you feed the animals. I love manatees. We have been able to see a couple in the wild when visiting MIL and FIL and they are neat to watch.

I when I read about the otter puppet. I think those shows are the best when the animals won't cooperate. We went to the fair this weekend and they had a sea lion show, and the trainer was throwing hoops for the sea lion to catch...well, she was not throwing them well, and at one point one of the other sea lions got one of the dropped hoops and put it on the neck of the one catching. It was funny. The other trainer joked to the one throwing that she had "just been replaced by a sea lion."

I love it when the animals do their own thing. Somehow it makes the whole thing more "realistic".

That princess hair is really hanging in there, huh? Not bad. Good use of your money, apparently!

She absolutely loved having her princess hair. It is still one of the top things that she talks about from the trip.

Is that a baby killer whale? Everything is cuter when it's smaller, isn't it?

I think it was some sort of juvenile - although I don't remember exactly how old.

I am VERY impressed that they trained cats. Mine will roll over on command if he is hungry and in the right mood, but that's about it! The pet show sounds like fun.

The cats really impressed me. All the cats I have ever known did their own thing - not exactly the first animal that comes to mind when I thing of training.

 

[ksl5f123]

I am really wanting to go to Sea World! I just love aquatic animals....well all animals but we do not have any aquatic animals around here! I love watching the walrus also and Shamu! They always seem to make dumb little storylines to go along with what the animals are doing...I am with you: I am there to see the animals!!!

I love the aquatic animals too. DH and I got to swim with some dolphins off of Hawaii in 2006 and I just them now! DD4 talks about our Seaworld day constantly and actually prayed last night that we would get to go back soon.

 

[ksl5f123]

The last time we went to Seaworld was in 2005 when DD6 was a one year old. At that time, MIL had gotten her a plush Shamu. For as long as I can remember, DD4 has coveted that one stuffed animal (of the probably 100 or so we own). I had long ago promised her that the next time we went to Seaworld I would buy her her own Shamu. Of course, this led to cries of “if she gets something, I want something” from DD6. She knew long before we even left for the trip that she was getting a dolphin.

I figured if I was buying for the other two, DS needed something too. I walked him around the store showing him every animal. He would hug them and I would ask “Do you want this one?” He would say, “No, back”. Finally, we came around to the dolphins and when I asked, he answered, “Fish, mine” So, we are now a 2 Shamu, 2 Dolphin family.

Despite our extended shopping trip, we were done and out of the park by 3:30. We drove up and down I Drive for a while before finally stopping for an early supper at Maggianos. It was fabulous! I have never been to one of these before. The food is served family style in absolutely HUGE bowls. Everyone had plenty to eat.

Now, it was time to decide if we were going to stay in Orlando and use the 10th day on our tickets or just head for the beach. Here was the discussion that DH and I had:

Pros: - DD4 had gotten a new plush Buzz from Kohl's about a week before our trip and he was her new constant companion. She desparately wanted to meet Buzz, but we had somehow missed him all week.
- We still had 2 GAD vouchers to use
- Our DHS day had been crazy and not quite the “last note” that we wanted.

Cons: - MIL and FIL had no more days on their tickets and upgrading was expensive.
- We had used TGM to choose our park days and to this point had done all “green” parks (which means he recommends them based on predicted crowd levels) the MK on Thursday was “red” (meaning TGM thought we should avoid it).
- The MK was having morning EMH on Thursday for which we were no longer eligible so we would be an hour behind the crowd.
- We would have to pay for another night of hotel, parking at the MK, and another day of meals.
- This day would be Thursday June 17 which some of you may remember because it was discussed on the theme parks board that the predicted temperature that day was 117 degrees!!!!

We spent pretty much all of our extra time on Wednesday trying to decide what to do. In the end, we chose the extra day. MIL and FIL chose to leave. They went home after supper while we found a hotel. After our experience the night before, I told DH I wanted to stay someplace NICE. We got a room at the Radisson on 535 for $94. It had the sleep number beds and the girls enjoyed inflating and deflating theirs a few times before bed. We were again all in bed by 9 PM. Before we went to sleeep, I asked each person for the one ride they wanted on our last day. DD6 chose Big Thunder Mountain, DD4 chose Small World, DH chose Buzz Lightyear, and I chose Peter Pan. Based on this, I developed this touring plan:
Small World
Peter Pan with GAD
Thunder Mountain with GAD for DH & DD6
Buzz with GAD
Meet Buzz
Leave before we roasted!
This looked like a pretty easy plan even if the parks were crowded. And so ends day 8 with princess hair!

Up next, a bonus day at MK!

 

[ksl5f123]

Thursday morning we got up early, had a quick breakfast in our room, and made our way to the Magic Kingdom. We were in the parking lot by 8:30 AM. We then took the tram to the TTC. This was our first time on the tram since the 1980s! I love the announcers on here! Every one that we saw was so excited to welcome people to the Magic Kingdom. They really helped to build the anticipation!

When we arrived at the TTC, there were throngs of people headed for the monorail. We were beginning to wonder if we had made the wrong choice about braving what were predicted to be VERY big crowds. However, we noticed that only about 3 people were in line for the boat, so we made a quick decition to go that way. I think we would have been packed into the monorail like a Tokyo subway. Instead, we had a lovely, uncrowded and relaxing boat ride.

When we arrived in the the MK, we saw a little kiosk to the right with a sign that said “Redeem Give a Day vouchers here”. So, that was our next stop. The CM working here was very friendly and chatted with the kids while processing our paperwoork. We redeemed DH's GAD voucher for fastpasses and DD6's for the little hat/pin collectable set. We got our fastpass cards here, but just another voucher for the collectible that had to be turned in at City Hall. After entering the gates, DH took DD6 to City hall to get her collectable, while DD4, DS1 and I got in line to see Daisy. DD4 loves her because her bow is purple.

Here is a picture of DD4 waiting to meet Daisy. You can still see the boo-boos on her knees from where she fell at Epcot a week earlier.

The girls with Daisy

We then started walking up Main Street making our way to Fantasyland. That was when I realized that we never stopped for this!

Can you believe that we had been at WDW for 10 days and this was our first family Photopass picture?! I really need to get better about stopping for those!

We also got this one

The girls were confused because they didn't exactly understand what the picture was going to look like, but they did what they were told.

We made it back to Fantasyland at about 9:30 and Small World was a walk-on. The prediction of 117 degrees for this day was an over-estimate, but it was HOT. Even though we had only been in the park for about 30 minutes, we were thrilled to enjoy the cool air condidtioning in Small World.

Next, we went over to Peter Pan. It had about a 50 minute wait which was definitely longer than it had been on Saturday at 9:45 AM. We could tell that the crowds were building faster than they had on our other days. We used out GAD vouchers to get an instant fastpass and breezed through the fastpass line.

Up next, more favorites!

 

[TinksThree]

The first year we used PP I had hundreds but this trip DH kept rolling his eyes when I wanted to stop for a picture so we did nto have half as many, but I love the PP pictures!! Especially the added elements!

The girls with Daisy are so cute! I can relate to being confused about what to do with Tinkerbell! When that technology first came out, we were at Dollywood and I was supposed to "hold" a flower. They didn't tell me what I was doing just to hold my hand a certain way. It wasn't until later when I saw the picture that I fully grasped what had happened....and then I felt real smart!! I was an adult though so I couldn't use littel girl cuteness for an excuse!!!

I had forgotten until I read this post, but I had initially tried to talk DH into doing GAD and add 1 extra day. He was determined we were spending no extra time at Disney World so I decided not to do GAD at all and let others have the vouchers. After reading this, I realized we could have used that day. I had totally forgotten about all of that....you bet I brought that back up to DH!!

 

[TinksThree]

The first year we used PP, we had hundreds of pictures. This year, I did nto have nearly as many since DH wasn't into stopping so much! I managed to get one infront of the castle and then I wasn't happy with it!

You had some really good pictures! Especially the girls with Daisy! So cute!!

I had totally forgotten until I read this post, but I had tried talking DH into doing GAD and getting an extra day. He was adament that we would not be spending any extra time at Disney, so we did not do GAD to allow others to receive the vouchers. Boy in hindsight, I should have just done it anyway! I totally forgot about all of that....but you can bet I showed DH and reminded him when I read this!!

 

[lexmas]

SO glad you decided on the extra day!

I can't believe that you almost forgot to get a family photopass picture! You would have been upset if you realized that when you got home. See, first thing, and the extra day is already worth it!

They should really carry a copy of those "special" pictures to show the kids, so they know what the heck they're doing. I've never seen one where the kids didn't look confused!

Peter Pan always has a crazy wait. And I don't know why. Fastpasses are a must for that one!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day!